


Shadow

by KcDawson



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Bad Parenting, Child Neglect, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24634570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KcDawson/pseuds/KcDawson
Summary: When Yus persona disappears and both he and Yosuke get trapped in a strange new house in the tv world, Yosuke learns more about his partners passed and his secrets.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji
Comments: 8
Kudos: 141





	Shadow

What just happened?

Yosuke really doesn't know. He's never seen that happen before, and it happened to Yu of all people. He's always been so... In control.

So why is it that when Yu went to called his persona, it didn't come? 

They had decided to go train in Heaven so that they'll be strong enough to fight the real killer whenever they find him. It wasn't long until a shadow attacked them.

"PERSONA!" Yu called out, but nothing happened. The leaders eyes widen in a mix of panic and confusion as the shadow turns to him. It attacked too quickly for the others to react, sending Yu flying into the wall.

Now, Yosuke is running his partners side as Yu falls to the floor and the others hold off the shadow. The brunette quickly kneels by his friend and helps him sit up.

"Yu! Are you ok?" Yosuke asks with worry, however Yu doesn't give him an answer

"Persona...!" Yu calls again, reaching his arm out for the card but it doesn't come. The leader frowns as he looks down at his hand. "Why... Why can't I summon my personas...?"

"U-Uh, I'm sure there's a good reason for it, just try to stay calm ok?" Yosuke says. He knows it sounds lame, but it's rare to see this look of fear in his partners eyes. Despite the lameness of what Yosuke said, Yu looks at him and nods slightly, taking a deep breath. The others quickly defeat the shadow and quickly join the two boys.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Chie asks and Yosuke explains their situation.

"So Sensei can't call his personas?!" Teddie gasps and Yu nods.

"Yeah... I can't summon any of them..." He says.

"There has to be a reason, right?" Yosuke looks at Rise. "Can you see if anything weirds going on?"

"Alright! Just hold on" Rise assures as she summons her persona. They all watch her impatiently while she searches for anything that might have caused Yu his problem. When Rises persona disappears, Yu is the first to speak. 

"Did you find anything?" Yosuke has no idea how his partner manages to sound so calm in a situation like this. He knows that if it were him, he'd be freaking out.

"I felt something pretty close by, I can't tell what it is exactly, but it could be the reason why Senpai can't find his personas." Rise explains as Yosuke looks back at Yu.

"What do you think bro? Should we check it out?" Yosuke asks and Yu nods, standing up.

"Yeah, we shouldn't leave this unchecked..." The leader says and everyone nods. They all head out in the direction that Rise told them to go, Yosuke stays close to Yus side.

"You ok, partner?" He asks, Yu doesn't turn to look at him.

"....Yeah" He answers simply and Yosuke sighs a little.

"Any idea why this is happening...?" Yu can be very perspective at times, not to mention really smart, if anyone would know what's happening, it would be Yu (or possibly Naoto, but she can be a little intimidating to talk to). Yu stays silent for a minute after Yosukes question before giving his answer.

"...Whatever it is, I doubt it's any good." Yosuke nods in agreement and sighs as they continue to walking, now in silence.

Eventually, they find a large house. It almost looks like... A doll house... But one that's been melded together with a ton of others. A bunch of different parts of different types of houses all put together into the giant doll house.

"This is it... I'm sensing something powerful in there...." Rise tells them as they all look up at the monstrosity looming before them.

Yosuke glances at Yu and notices that he's gone unusually pale, staring up at the 'house'. Yosuke hesitates for a second then places a hand on Yus shoulder.

"Hey, you ok?" He asks, Yu doesn't look away from the scene in front of him.

"I... These houses..." He mutters which does absolutely nothing to answer Yosukes questions and causes him to worry more.

"What is it? Do you recognize it?" The brunette asks, this time the only response is a nod. Yosuke frowns and looks back at the creepy doll house. "Should we go inside?" Yosuke asks. Yu hesitates for a second before nodding and walking to the door. As the group gets closer, Yosuke notices the shiny nature of the house, like it made out of plastic.

"What is this...? Some sort of doll house...? And why is it here?" Yukiko asks but it seems no one has an answer. Instead, Yu just opens the door which leads to a white empty room. Everyone looks around in surprise.

"This is it?! It looked huge from outside!" Kanji exclaims.

"There must be a way in, it wouldn't make sense if this was all that was here." Naoto says. "We should look for a way to get inside"

The team nods and they all start walking around the room, searching for the real way into this place. Yosuke, as always, stays by Yus side, maybe a bit closer than usual. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he's worried for his partner. Yus always been a quiet guy, but now he's being more silent than usual, not to mention the look he had when he saw this place.

Yosuke realizes he's been worrying about Yu a lot more recently, but who could blame him? Yus been going through a lot recently, his cousin got kidnapped, his uncle got into a car accident, his cousin died... Of course, by some miracle, she came back, but that doesn't make it any less traumatic. Yet through all of that, he managed to stay the calm, strong leader. Regardless, Yosuke just wants to help his partner however he can, so he's going to stick right beside him for whatever he's going through now.

"Ugh, I can't find anything!" Chie suddenly exclaims, causing Yosuke to jump abs look over.

"Geez, will you quiet down?!" He tells her which just receives a glare in response. Yukiko puts a hand on her shoulder and brings her back to the search. As he turns back to Yu, he sees a hand come through the wall and grab Yus wrist. Yus eyes widen in surprise.

"Gh?!" His partner exclaims as the hand starts pulling him through the wall.

"Yu!" Yosuke calls with worry and grabs onto his friends hand, trying to pull him back. Whatevers pulling Yu through turns out to be pretty strong, because the next thing Yosuke knows, the two of them get pulled through the wall and he faceplants onto the floor, unfortunately losing his grasp on his partner.

By the time Yosuke gets back up, Yus nowhere to seen. Yosuke quickly stands and frantically looks around.

"Yu?!" He calls but gets no answer. He quickly turns back to face where he got pulled in, but there's no door. He places his hand against the wall he got pulled in through, but nothing happens.

"Yosuke-Senpai? Can you hear me?" Rises voice suddenly calls, Yosuke can tell she's communicating through her persona.

"Y-Yeah, I'm here!" He assures and hears Rise sigh in relief.

"Thank God... I tried getting through to Senpai but somethings not letting me! I tried looking for a way in but I couldn't find one, sorry, but it looks like you're on your own... I don't feel many shadows around, the only ones seem to be on a higher floor" Rise explains.

"Alright... Do you know what this place is? Why is it here? And why did it take Yu?" Yosuke asks and Rises quiet for a second. The next one to speak is Naoto, Rise using her persona to allow them to communicate.

"...This may seem hard to believe, but I think that this could be the doing of Senpais shadow." When she says this, Yosuke forgets to breathe. 

Yus shadow? That doesn't make sense... Yu always just had a persona, he never had to face himself, so why now? All Yosuke manages to say in response to Naoto is;

"What?"

"Think about it, shadows turn into personas when we accept them, correct? Well what would happen if you start repressing a part of yourself again, wouldn't it be possible for a persona to revert back into a shadow? There was also the fact that Senpai seemed shaken when he saw this place, it's possible it came from somewhere inside him, much like the rest of ours. He's also the only one out of all of us to be targeted by what's in there." Naoto explains and Yosuke clenches his fists.

She has a point... Yu must have been going through more than Yosuke thought... How could he not notice his best friend going through so much that his shadow came back...? The thought of that makes a wave of guilt come crashing down on Yosuke.

"So.... You really think this is 'cause of Yus shadow..?" Yosuke asks, speaking carefully to stop his voice from cracking.

"I almost sure of it, I wish we could help you find him, but there's no way through this wall..." The detective tells him.

"Don't worry, I'll do whatever I can to help him" Yosuke says determinedly.

"Good luck then, I hope it turns out well." Naoto concludes and Rises voice comes back.

"Save oyr leader for us Yosuke-Senpai! Call me if anything happens!" Rise says and Yosuke nods.

"Right, I will" Yosuke assures and turns back towards the room, taking in his surroundings for the first time.

He seems to be in a kitchen, everything around him still has that plastic-like look to it, but the kitchen itself looks pretty nice, definitely not like anything they'd have here in Inaba.

A phone suddenly starts ringing and Yosuke jumps, not expecting that sudden sound. He looks around trying to figure out where it's coming from when a something appears in front of a counter.

It looks like a child, however it's slightly transparent. It's clear this kid isn't actually real, but the image is clear enough for Yosuke to make out the details. The child has pale skin, a familiar head of grey hair and sharp grey eyes. This kid is 100% unmistakably Yu, but about ten years younger. Yosuke watches in shock as the kid picks up the phone.

"Hello?" Child Yu asks as he answers the phone.

"Yu, we won't be home for dinner tonight. Eat without us" A woman's voice says, Yosuke assumes it's what Yus hearing over the phone. Child Yus shoulders droop, very clearly disappointed.

"But... You haven't been home all week..." He says, his voice sounds quite sad.

"Are you complaining? We work to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Complaining is selfish." The woman sounds annoyed as she says this. Child Yu looks down.

"I... I know but-" He starts but is almost immediately cut off.

"Are you talking back?" The woman cold voice asks.

"...No, I'm sorry" The child responds.

"Good" Is all the woman says before hanging up. Young Yu sighs sadly and puts the phone away and as the phone gets put back into place, the child disappears. Yosuke is left in the kitchen with a cold feeling in his stomach.

Was that Yus mom he was talking to...? Is that really something he had to go through...? He was so young and being treated like that... It must have sucked, to put it lightly. Suddenly Rises voice cuts through his thoughts.

"Yosuke-Senpai?! Can you hear me?" She asks, causing Yosuke to jump.

"Y-Yeah, i hear you" He assures and hears Rise sigh in relief.

"I lost contact with you for a moment, did something happen?" She asks.

"Uh, yeah, but I'm alright. I just saw this thing, like a flashback or something." Yosuke explains.

"So that's what that was... I felt something weird when I lost contact... It has to be Senpais shadows doing." Rise says.

"Yeah, luckily I don't think it's dangerous, I'll call you if something bad happens" Yosuke assures.

"Alright, we'll be waiting!" Rise assures and Yosuke sees the door to leave the kitchen. He quickly goes to the door and walks through it. 

Other than the same plastic-like look, this room is completely different than the one before, as if it's a completely different house. It's a room with light blue walls, everything is clean and neat, much like Yus room at the Dojimas. This time, instead of a phone ringing, Yosuke hears a man's voice.

"Your aunt told me you got 85% on your last test." Yosuke is confused by the tone of the voice, to Yosuke, getting 85% sounds great! But the man sounds stern and serious, even a bit disappointed. Yosuke turns to see another slightly transparent version of Yu, this one looking about ten or eleven. He has an embarrassed look on his face, it could even be taken as ashamed.

"Im sorry... It's just that I just moved here and I'm nit quite used to-" Yu starts but is quickly cut off.

"I don't want excuses, I want results. If you don't get good marks, you'll fail in life, understood?" The man's voice says sternly and Yu looks at the ground, very clearly upset.

"Understand sir..." The way he says it just makes Yosuke want to go over there and comfort the poor kid, but thus is just a flashback, he knows he couldn't even if he tried.

"I expect something acceptable next time" The man says in that same stern voice that Yosuke finds highly innappropriate for talking to a kid.

"I understand" The young Yu repeats, which seems to satisfy the man who hangs up without even saying goodbye. The scene melts away again, leaving Yosuke standing in the middle of the bedroom, fists clenched. That man could only have been Yus dad, how could he have put so much pressure on someone as young as Yu was there? No wonder Yu was always so adamant about studying and passing if he'd been treated like this if he gets anything less than perfect...

Yosuke takes a deep breath to calm the anger bubbling up inside him and spots the next door. He opens it up to once again find himself in a completely different place. It looks the inside of a train station.

Yosuke does his best to mentally prepare himself for whatever he's going to see this time, at the same time hoping it'll be better than the other two. He walks further into the room and looks around, abruptly stopping when he hears the sound of someone crying. It's not loud or anything, just little gasps and shaky breaths, but it's obviously crying.

He quickly spots two more transparent figures by the train tracks, the both of them having suitcases. One of them is once again, a young version if Yu, this time, he couldn't be older that 8. He's standing next to a woman who bears a faint resemblance to Dojima, her hair tied back into a tight bun and wearing a very business-like suit

The crying, of course, is coming from Yu. It's clear he's trying to hide it, but he seems unable to stop. The woman next to him gives him a disapproving look.

"You're causing a scene, people are looking at us" She says, no hint of sympathy in her voice.

"I-Im sorry, m-mother... B-But I'm g-ginna miss my f-friends" The young Yu cries and his mother sighs.

"Enough of this, we have to move a lot for our work, it better not be like this every time. You'll embarrass your father and I" She tells him and Yu nods, trying to wipe away the tears that keep falling.

Yosuke clenches his fists again, seeing Yu be treated like this just makes him so... So furious. Yus one of the kindest, most caring person he knows, he doesn't deserve to be treated like THIS.

"What's the point in making friends...? I'll have to leave anyway... I'm better off on my own, that way I can't get hurt" A voice suddenly echoes through the train station as the two people disappear. Yosuke recognizes that voice, it's unmistakably Yus.

Hearing all this makes Yosukes heart ache. He never knew about any of this.... Sure he figured Yus parents were distant since they never called and Yu never talked about them, and he knew Yu moved a lot in his life, but he never knew it was like this....

"I'll save you, partner, I promise" Yosuke mutters to himself as he quickly walks to the next door. This one leads to a staircase instead of another room and Yosuke runs up the stairs, needing to find his partner soon.

When he reaches the top, Yosuke realizes he's in a hallway, it's definitely not Yasogami. This time, there are a ton of transparent people, who Yosuke assumes are students, wandering around. Yosuke quickly spots Yu, this time he look like he's still in middle school, maybe 13 or 14. He walks by two girls and opens a locker, the girls watch him before turning back to each other.

"That's the transfer student right?" One asks.

"Yeah, he's been here for over a month and he's barely said any to anyone" Her friend responds.

"I know right?! I tried talking to him but all his answers were so vague... And he never reacts to anything, he's always completely straight faced!" The first girl agrees. At this point, Yosuke notices that Yu has stopped getting his things from his locker and is just standing there. Yosuke figures he's listening in on what they're saying, Yosukes seen him doing this at school a few times.

"Yeah... If only he wasn't so socially weird, he's like, perfect in every way besides that. I mean, he gets good grades, he always answers right in class and he's really good looking. Maybe he's a robot or something" The other girl giggles and her friend laughs.

"I wouldn't be surprised, it's like he's completely emotionless. It only makes sense that he's not actually human" The girls both giggle and walk away.

Yu closes his locker and looks down for a second then walks away. Yosuke feels another wave of anger crash over him. Sure, Yus never been an expressive person, but obviously he's not emotionless! No one is! How could they be so insensitive?!

"Robot... Emotionless... It doesn't matter what they think of me... I'll leave soo anyway... It doesn't matter" Yus voice echoes through the hallway again as all the people disappear. Yosuke bites his lip, he didn't know Yu had to go through any of this... What kind of friend is he if he doesn't know anything about the person he considers his partner?! He finds himself in front of the next door and takes a breath before opening it.

He's not sure what he expected this room to be, but he's taken aback when it looks like some type of ballroom. There's a bunch of unrecognizable transparent people in fancy clothes. From what Yosuke can tell, this seems to be a business party or something.

It's easy enough to spot Yu in the crowd, especially since mostly everyone has black or dark brown hair, which makes Yu stick out even more. He doesn't look much older than he did in the last scene, but now he's standing between a man and the same woman from earlier at the train station. Yosuke guesses those are his parents. There's another couple standing in front of them, talking with Yus parents.

"I've got to say Narukami-kun, your son is quite impressive" The man says while the woman beside him nods.

"I agree, he's smart, he's polite and he has good looks as well, he's practically the perfect child!" She says and Yus dad puts a hand on his sons shoulder.

"Yes well, we raised him right." His father says.

"Bullshit" Yosuke mutters, from what he's seen, it looked like Yu basically raised himself. Yosuke watches as the other couple walks away to talk to some other people, leaving Yu with his parents.

"This is why you always need to produce perfect results, if you don't you can ruin our reputation" His mother tells Yu who nods a little.

"I understand" Is all he says and Yosuke feels his blood boil. Seeing Yus childhood like this is just devastating...

"Perfect... I can't be anything less" Yus voice says again as everything disappears, leaving Yosuke alone in the ball room. He can't believe Yu had to go through this shit, but he knows he can't let those feelings slow him down. Once again, Rises voice pulls him out of his thoughts.

"Yosuke-Senpai! I feel something up ahead! I think it could be Senpai!" Rise says and Yosuke sighs in relief.

"Alright! Thanks Rise" He says.

"Be careful though, I feel some shadows close by too" Rise warns.

"Got it" Yosuke says and opens the next door, showing another staircase. He runs up them as fast as he can without slipping on the plasticky surface. 

When he bursts into the room, the first thing he realizes is this room matches the outside of the house. It's like a bunch of different parts of different rooms got melded together. Yosuke even recognizes a few parts from Yus room with the Dojimas.

The next thing he notices is a shadow, a pretty strong one at that. It looks like it's fighting something and as Yosuke gets closer, he realizes that something is Yu. His partner's doing his best to fight the monster with only his katana, but he's breathing heavily and clearly running out of energy. He also looks a little beat up, which isn't a surprise considering he's fighting without any of his personas. 

Yosuke quickly starts running over, Yu must have heard his footsteps because he looks over, his eyes widening when his eyes land on the brunette.

"Yosuke...?!" He asks, clearly surprised. The shadow must have noticed he was distracted because it starts prepping a strong attack.

"Look out!" Yosuke calls and quickly pushes Yu out of the way of the attack. He quickly guards himself so he protect himself from the attack but it doesn't come. He opens his eyes and notices that the shadows gone, he frowns and looks around.

"Huh? Where'd it go...?" He mutters as he looks around the room.

"So selfless... You never change Yosuke. I'm sorry but I can't let you get hurt for my sake" Says Yus voice, but it didn't come to from his side where Yu is, and it has that familiar creepy echo that only shadows have. Next to him, Yu slowly stands looking in the direction of the voice.

The two of them watch as Yus shadow walks into the room. At first, Yosuke doesn't notice much of a difference from the real Yu, other than those yellow eyes, but as it gets closer, Yosuke sees that there definitely is something different. His shadow doesn't even have a hair out of place. Everything is placed perfectly, almost like a Ken doll that havens been removed from its case. Yus shadow looks so perfect it's almost scary.

"You're..." Yu says as he stares at his shadow.

"You shouldn't be that surprised, you've been repressing things for a while now" The shadow says simply.

"....I know what you want, I'm you and you're me, that's it right?" Yu asks but his shadow smiles slightly and shakes its head.

"You don't even know what you're accepting. Besides, it doesn't count if you don't mean it" His shadow says simply. Yosuke looks at his partner and lays a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. Yu looks at Yosuke then back at his shadow and gives it a little nod.

"Alright then, go ahead" He says and Yosuke can't help but think about how brave Yu is, but the shadow scoffs.

"There it is again, that ' _brave **perfect** leader_' persona. You're always putting on a brave face aren't you? You can't let anyone down after all." It says and Yosuke glances at Yu again. His partners eyes haven't left his other self, but it doesn't look like he's going to say anything which is a relief, he doesn't know if he could take down Yus shadow alone.

"Everything was so much easier before you came here, isn't that right? Before, you never had to worry about other people. The only thing you had to worry about was yourself. Before you came, it didn't matter where you moved to or when, it was another day and another school with people who didn't matter because you knew that the constant loneliness you felt could never hurt as much as what you would feel when you had to leave. But you just had to come here, and make these bonds. You know you don't have much time left with them, and that hurts more than anything. You don't want to leave this place... You don't want to go back to being alone, you don't want to go back to the city with the parents that don't even care enough to spend time with you if it's not some stupid thing that will only help them and their damn work." The shadow says, it's voice shaking a little near the end.

"You're... You're right, I'm scared of leaving Inaba. I don't want to leave all my friends. This place is my home.." Yu says and Yosuke turns to him again, his heart aching for his partner.

"Yu..." He says, his voice full of sympathy.

"I'm not done" The shadow suddenly says, the sterness in its voice startling Yosuke and causes Yu to frown.

"You don't want to leave, but at the same time, you wish you never came." Ir starts and Yosuke feels his heart stop for a second. He wishes he never came? He just said he doesn't want to leave, so why is he saying that..? It just doesn't make sense to Yosuke.

"Your parents always pressured you to be perfect. The perfect son, the perfect student, the perfect 'person'. But when you came here... That wasn't enough. You had to be MORE than that. The perfect partner, the perfect friend, the perfect leader, the perfect Senpai, perfect sensei, perfect brother, nephew, listener, helper, the perfect EVERYTHING!" It continues on as Yu flinches at its raised voice.

"Everyone holds you on some sort of pedestal like for some reason you're BETTER than them and you hate it. You can't let them down, you can't show them how WEAK you are! You can't tell them how you feel because you know you'll let them down. You can't let them see you as anything less than what they think you are. Even when Nanako died, you HAD to hold it in! You couldn't let them see you upset because that would ruin the image of that strong PERFECT leader!"The shadows voice rises progressively as it speaks. Yosuke realizes he's holding his breath. He never knew... He never knew Yu was going through this... What kind of frond is he if he didn't know a single thing Yu was going through. The shadow continuing on takes him out of his self-degrading thoughts, it's back to its usual calm voice when he speaks, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

"But... With Yosuke... He wants to see you as an equal. You feel like you can be yourself around him... Well, mostly. There are things you can't tell him." Yosukes eyes widen a little, not expecting that.

"H-Huh...?" He asks and glances at Yu, hoping for an explanation, but his partners face has paled significantly. His shadow on the other hand, seems pleased at this.

"Yosuke has been by my side since the beginning. He was the first friend you made since you were a kid, he's the only one who's allowed to see you at your worst. He's the only one you want at your side forever. You would trust Yosuke with anything and that's because you l-"

"Enough." Yu suddenly says. His voice is ferm, but it's shaking a little. Yosukes heart pounds in his chest as he listens to this, too in shock to say anything. Yu clenches his fists, his hands shaking. "That's enough, just stop..." He repeats.

"That's right, you're too scared you'll lose him. He won't want to be around you when he knows the truth. You saw how he was with a Kanji. If he learns the truth about you, you'll lose the most important person to you. You've been repressing this forever and now it's come back to haunt you! You're in lo-" The shadow is once again cut off, this time by Yu bounding forward and grabs his shadows collar, slamming it into the wall. Yosukes eyes widen in shock, this outburst was not at all what he expected. Whatever that shadow wants to say, Yu really didn't want it to be heard.

"Yu..!" Yosuke warns but he's completely ignored.

"Stop it...!" Yu pleads to his shadow, his hands visibly shaking against the shadows collar.

"Just admit it! There's a reason you never told him your type! Why you you never showed interest in any if the girls around you! It's because-" The shadows continues on.

"Don't... Please..." Yu pleads, all the firmness gone from his voice, now just sounding shaky and defeated.

"It's because you're in love with Yosuke!" His shadow says loudly and Yosuke swears the world just stops at that moment. Blood rushes to his face and he feels light headed. He feels as though a cage full of butterflies were released in his stomach.

When he manages to pull himself back to reality, Yus on his knees in front of his shadow. He's looking down with his backs casting a shadow over his eyes.

"....You're right.... You're right about everything... I'm scared about leaving... I'm scared to show my imperfections... I'm scared... Of losing the person I love... I didn't want to face these fears so I ignored them... I shouldn't have since it got me into this mess..." Yus voice knocks Yosuke out of his trance. He walks over as the shadow fades into a tarot card that Yu grabs, finally retrieving his personas.

Yosuke goes to Yus side and kneels down beside him. Yu glances at him for a second then looks away.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I know you don't feel the same way... So please... Just try to forget i-" Yu starts but Yosuke cuts him off by pulling him into a hug. Yu tenses uoya little, clearly taken aback by the sudden action, one that Yosuke complained about the first time they did it.

"...Yosuke...?" Yu asks, his voice is still quite small which breaks Yosuke's heart. He never knew Yus been going through things like this. Yosuke has to do what Yu would always do for him, he has to be there for him.

"It's ok" He says softly, tightening the hug a little to reassure him. It wasn't anything close to a heart warming inspirational speech, but it seems to work since Yu finally wraps his arms around Yosuke in return, burying his head in his shoulder.

Yosuke can feel him shaking slightly, probably overwhelmed with everything that just happened. Despite this, being this close to Yu makes his heart flutter. He wants to make sure Yu stays by his side forever, he doesn't want him to go back to being alone. He would do anything to keep his partner here in Inaba, here by his side. That's when Yosukes struck with a sudden realization.

"I like you too, partner." He says it before he even processed it, his face turning dark red as soon as he does. He feels Yus hands tighten on his shirt a little as the pressure of Yus head on his shoulder lifts.

"W-what..?" Yu asks, the shock clear in his voice and Yosuke feels another cage of butterflies get released inside him as he says;

"I-I said I like you too partner. You don't have to worry ok? You're not losing me, i like you too" Hes pretty sure his face is the colour of a fire hydrant as Yu looks into his eyes. Yosuke looks back into Yus and offers him a reassuring smile, Yu tightens their hug again, resuming his previous position on Yosukes shoulder.

"Yosuke...." Is all Yu manages to say as Yosuke keeps his arms around the other boy.

"You're not alone anymore, I'm here" He reassures. Yu holds the back of his shirt tightly, like he's scared Yosuke will just suddenly change his mind and reject him. The two stay like this for a while until Yu pulls away.

"Thank you... But we should go back to the others. They're all waiting, right?" Yu asks and Yosuke nods.

"You sure you're ok though?" Yosuke asks as he hesitantly let's go of the other boy. Yu gives him a small smile and nods.

"Thank you, but I'll be alright" He assures as the two of them stand. The two of them start going to the door to leave but Yu staggers dangerously. Yosuke quickly helps steady him.

"Whoa there, careful. Accepting yourself takes a lot out of you" Yosuke says. Yu smiles a little again, trying to reassure him.

"Sorry, I didn't realize how drained I was until now..." He says and Yosuke wraps Yus arm around his shoulder.

"Here, lean on me, I'll help you out partner" He says with a wink and helps Yu out the door. 

As they walk, Rises voice comes back, telling them a door appeared so they can leave. Yosuke assures her that Yus safe and they soon rejoin the others. Everyone fusses over Yu for a while until Yosuke tells them to give the guy some space. They all decide its for the best to leave the tv world for now.

Everyone goes their own way back in the real world, but Yosuke stays with Yu.

"Let me bring you home" He says and Yu doesn't complain, the two of them walking to the Dojima residence together. They'd spent a long while in the tv world, longer than they thought, so it turned out to be quite late by the time they get there. They decide to order something since Yus still quite exhausted from that whole ordeal and Yosuke isn't really confident in his cooking abilities.

They don't really say anything, even when the food comes. Neither of them are really sure what to say after every that happened. Yosuke has so many things he wants to say, but every time he tries to say anything, the words die in his throat. It's a bit after they finish eating when Yu breaks the silence.

"....Did you mean it? What you said back there..?" Yu asks quietly, looking at the ground. Yosuke blushes and rubs the back of his head awkwardly.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I did... I didn't even notice until I heard you- or well, your shadow say that you liked me... It made me really happy to hear that..." Yosukes admits and laughs awkwardly. "I probably should have noticed sooner... I'm always happiest when I'm with you, and just thinking about you leaving really hurts... Especially after seeing everything back there... I want you to stay here forever, or at least, stay with me forever" Yosuke continues on until he looks at Yu and sees tears falling down Yus cheek. The brunettes eyes widen, starting to panic.

"Ah! I'm sorry! Did I say something bad?!" He asks but Yu shakes his head. He looks up at Yosuke with a small smile despite the tears.

"No, sorry. You didn't say anything wrong. I'm just... Relieved." Yu explains and Yosuke sighs in relief.

"That's good, you scared me for a second" He says and laughs a bit. Yu chuckles a little in response as he wipes his tears.

"So uh... What are we now..?" Yosuke asks.

"We could... Be together if you're alright with that" Yu says and Yosuke feels his face heat up.

"U-Uh, yeah, I'd like that..." He admits and Yu smiles to himself.

"I never thought this would happen..." He admits and Yosuke bumps shoulders with him and smiles.

"Well, I guess today's your lucky day partner" He says with a wink. Yu gently laces his fingers with Yosukes, causing Yosukes face to turn a dark shade of red.

"....Can you stay the night?" Yu asks him and Yosukes sure his brain short circuits for a second.

"Y-Yeah, no problem partner" Yosuke manages to say, finding his voice is unusually squeaky which Yu responds with with one of those small little smiles that never fails to make his heart flutter.

The two of them decide to relax by watching a movie together, sitting shoulder to shoulder with their fingers laced together. About halfway through the movie, Yosuke feels something fall onto his shoulder. He turns to see that Yu has fallen asleep and is now his head is resting on his shoulder. He can't help but smile at how cute his partner looks like this.

Yosuke gently wraps an arm around his shoulder and lays him down, he's about to stand to see if there's a spare futon or something he could use when arms wrap around his waist. Blood rushes to Yosukes cheeks as Yus arms keep him in place. He considers trying to make him let go for a second, but it does feel kinda nice... And he doesn't want to wake Yu, so he decides to just lay down with him.

His eyes slowly close themselves and he drifts off to sleep, feeling lucky to have his partner safe and here on his arms

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you liked the story and if you didn't, sorry, I dud my best. If you did, great! I'm happy you did! It took w while to write but I do like how it turned out.


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